Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-03-12
A GRAVITY RAILROAD.
RIDING OVER THE FIRST COMPLETED
RAILROAD IN THIS COUNTRY.
The Novel Way In which the Cars Are
Carried Ai"ng-The Many Curves
and windinsS-'Load
and Light" Tracks


II VI bI'rhlN u IiSFl
One of the most en- joy a ble and satisfactory
trips that can be taken is that of ride over
one Of the few gravity railroads now exist
ing in the country-say that Of the Dsla-
ware & Hu lson Canal COMPANY, in Penn
sylvsnia, extending from Honesdale to Car
bondale. distance Of seventeen mile. No
locomotives are used in going either way,
consequently there is ,sitive freedom from
smoke, cinders smell of coal gas, etc. which
is 50 annoying to travellers on ordinar! rail
roads. This was practically the first COM
ple,ei railroad in this country The schems
was originated by William Wurtz and his
brother Maurice, Of Philadelphia for the
purpose Of an outlet 10 New York city for
the coal they discovered in the L,ckawanna
valley in Penn ylvania. They first built the
Delaware a Hudson canal. extending from
Honesdaie Pa to Roniout this state
which at that time was indeed q gigantic
undertaking
Honesdale was as near to the coal mines
as they could extend the canal hence in the
year ISIS this gravity or "up and down
hill' railroad. as it has been aptly called.
was constructed, climbing over the Moosic
range OF mountains, 1000 feet above tide
water. This road. until within a few years,
was used for the transportation of coal eN-
clusively. In 1871, the company, to satisfy
the demands Of the public. concluded 10 eX-
pertinent, and commenced running passen-
ger cars. They were a success at the start
and travel has from year to year greatly in
creased. Travellers who enter these cars
for the first time are greatly astonished at
the novel way in which they are carried
along There is no motive power in sight
II starting from Honesiale the passenger,
upon ei tering the car and looking aheai,
sees the track leading directly up a steep
hill
A wire rope. resting on numerous little
iron pulleys in the middle of the track, ex-
tends from the foot of the plane, as it is
called, To the summit. AMI runs around huge
drums When ready this ca bic rope, by a
signal. is started and a man employed for
the purpose has in his hand a short piece OF
very heavy chain called sling with a
large hook at each end. one Of which he in
serts into a link ATTACHED to the car and the
other into one Of the Inks contained in the
endless rope. and up they go at a speed
something like fourteen miles an hour.
Once on the summit the sling is detached,
and. the gravity slightly descending, the
cars run by their own gravity for few
miles. when the foot of another plane Is
reached. This is ascendei in the same
manner as the first and SO on until Car
bon,:ale is reached. The cars are drawn
up the hills by stationary engines located
at the bead of the planes When one ha'
ridden up eight planes he is about ten miles
from Hone,dae and on the summit Of the
Moosic mountains, 1000 feet above sea
level, where the landscape view extends
miles and M les, the Catskill mountains Ue-
ing plainly visible.
1t is imp 7ssble to describe or imagine the
many windings and curves the road makes
The spec Of the cars rushing down and
around the mountain is very q eat, perLap.
a mile minute. and produces some queer
feelings Of surpr,ss and fear at first eN-
perienCe. In going down the mountain.
wien within mile of Carbondaie, w1ich
is then 500 feet be,ow and in plain sight
the cars make a sudden turn and go rush
ing in another direction, making a circuit
of several miles 10 get down the mountains
At one point person can look down from
the cars and sse the track many feet b low,
and a few minutes later look up with sur
prise at ths track just passed over, now
many feet above. This sudden curve is
called the Shepherds Crook At this point
the road run at a great elevation over the
l-iChuNdiha river, psliiS Aaf aUONe Tue Top,
of the tallest trees. For the accommoda.
of tourists the trains are sometimes stopped
few moments at this curve to enable pas
sengers to enjoy tbs beauties Of the wild,
magnificent scenery extending for miles
below.
The road has two tracks, called the loaded
and light track, the loaded track being the
one on which the cars filled with coal from
tka Ial. -.
Honesdale, and the light track that on
which the empty cars are brought back to
be reloaded. The loaded cars arc brosght
from Carbondale to Honesdale in the same
manner as the empty cars are taken back.
only that there are some plane, that de-
scend, and the loaded cars are let down these
by endless cables. In running from Car
bondale To Honesdale there are twelv
planes. eight up hill and four down hill; tn
up hill ones following each other and ar
numbered, commencing at Carbondale from
one to eight, No. being the shortest,
or l,25S feet long, No the longest,
being 479 feet
The four down planes are numbered 10, IL
and II the shortest being l,322 and the
longest .i63 feet, the steepest being Ma ),
where tie ascent is one foo, in y y5-lOO feet
After de cending Plane No II Waymart is
reached, and from there to Honesiale-dis-
tance ten miles, called Ten Mile levei-ths
cars run by their own gravity, the grals
being i3J1S per mile. In returning to Car
bondale there are eight planes all up hill.
numbered Is to 20, the shortest being Ga
feet (No. IA and the longest ? $50 feet NO
49,. The grade of No. Is is one foot in
5 it 100 feet, and the other extreme is No.
ls. where it is one foot in 100 feat
There are levels between all the planes on
the light track; the one from the summit To
Carbonate is six miles, called Six Mile
level, the grade being over 100 feet to the
mile. The speed of these cars is CONTROLLED
perfectly by experienced brakemen, who
are on each train, composed of both open
and closed cars